Now a seasoned professional at 23, Wireman recently started the job search again but with warnings from friends that he would be facing a leaner field.

"So far it's not been as good as it used to be when I first started, which was about eight years ago," Wireman said about his hunt for a job as a computer network administrator. "But I've started in the past two weeks, and I've had four interviews. All things considered, it's been good to me so far."

Others are not having as much luck. In May, the state's unadjusted unemployment rate topped the national figure for the first time since the summer of 1989. And when labor officials released the most recent estimates last week, June's jobless rate of 5.6 percent was the highest the state has seen in 11 years.

That compares with the state's historically low unemployment rate of 3 percent in late 2000 on the cusp of the recession that the state's technology and transportation jobs are still trying to recover from fully.

Despite the dramatic upswing in the unemployment picture, experts say the state's economy overall is not tanking. Certain sectors, such as manufacturing and most recently retail, are sore spots in the job market, but the influx of new people moving to Georgia and entering the labor pool also is behind the increased jobless rates.

The rising joblessness makes for good political fodder, however, and depending on what happens in the coming months could play a role in the campaign for the governor's office next year.

Georgia, once a national leader in job creation, has seen its payrolls expanding at a molasses pace lately. Jobs are being created - 0.5 percent more have been added in the state so far this year.

"That's just very slow growth in total employment," said Jeff Humphreys, director of the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth. "At the same time ... the population growth is almost twice the national average. A lot more people are looking for jobs here, but the jobs just haven't materialized."

Other areas of the state's economy appear steadier. Retail sales are up, and the state's collection of taxes - a sign of stronger personal income and business receipts - posted higher levels than they have in recent years.

But Humphreys said many companies are holding the line on hiring, in part because they're still wary of a repeat of the downturn that hit the state hard a few years ago. Meanwhile, the future of several large employers like Delta Air Lines and General Motors' minivan plant near Atlanta remain uncertain. The retail sector is emerging as a soft spot for Georgia's labor market, Humphreys said.

Retail jobs have dropped 1.8 percent in the past year, according to the state labor department.

Humphreys said this has been a result of larger chain companies rapidly moving into the state and forcing out smaller competitors and their employees - a trend that he said will start being more noticeable nationwide but is showing up early in Georgia because of its pro-development atmosphere.

"We're losing retail jobs at a pretty rapid clip, and that's despite the fact that retail sales are booming," he said.

As in other states, manufacturing job losses continue to be a significant problem. Two textile plants in Columbus announced either job cuts or closure plans this month.

Democratic operatives say the losses are adding up faster than in neighboring states and are using the statistics to poke holes in Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue's performance record.

While 14 states posted higher unemployment rates than Georgia did in June, Democratic Party of Georgia spokesman Emil Runge pointed to the drastic change that the state showed from a year ago.

Its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, which federal labor officials prefer to use because it evens out spikes and dips that happen at the same time each year, was 0.6 percent higher than it was in June of 2004. Only two other states - Mississippi and Tennessee - showed higher jumps from the year before.

And blame for that, Runge said, traces a path to the state's top office.

"This is a governor who has not demonstrated a commitment to creating jobs in the state of Georgia, and it's hurting the people of Georgia as a result," he said. "The economy is a big issue, and he's been absent on leadership there."

Though it hasn't been enough to jump start the job gains now, Perdue has been steadily announcing job expansions and new employers. Perdue spokesman Shane Hix said there are several reasons why the unemployment numbers would have bumped up recently, including new college graduates entering the labor market. He said the governor has made creating jobs a top priority.

GEORGIA JOBLESS

The state's jobless numbers so far in 2005 have spiked higher than in recent years. Here are Georgia's unadjusted unemployment rates in June for the past decade. * June 2005 numbers are preliminary.